On Sunday, April 10th, we stood with the Community Service Society to launch our new campaign for #FairFares for low-income New Yorkers!

All too often, the lowest-income New Yorkers can’t afford their MetroCards, even though they rely on public transportation more than any other income level. Sign our petition for #FairFares!

As you can see, we had a lot of supporters at our launch–low-income riders and community partners like Bronx Defenders, Brooklyn Defenders Services, the Brooklyn Movement Center, Community Action for Safe Apartments, Community Voices Heard, Make the Road NY, the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, Pratt Center, Transportation Alternatives, Transport Workers Union Local 100, the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, and VOCAL-NY.

A new report from the Community Service Society of New York (CSS) found that even though 58% of low-income New Yorkers rely on subways and buses, one out of four cannot afford their MetroCard. For New York’s more than 800,000 working poor, transit expenses are over 10 percent of their family budget, forcing them to choose between transit and other necessities.

That’s why we’re fighting for reduced fare MetroCards for low-income New Yorkers. Half-priced discounts on MetroCards are already available to seniors and the disabled, in addition to pre-tax transit benefits that save middle class New Yorkers hundreds of dollars on their MetroCards.

It’s time to help low-income New Yorkers catch a break. Nobody should have to choose between a meal and a MetroCard.

Get involved! Tell us your story about the tough choices you’ve had to make and sign our petition to ask Mayor de Blasio and the City Council to support a program that would allow low-income families to purchase MetroCards at reduced rates. And if you’re on Twitter, show your support:

Read Leslie’s story, a Riders Alliance member from Central Harlem who joined the fight for reduced fares for low-income riders because she wants to see
working people succeed.

Read Manuel’s story, a Riders Alliance member from Queens who has volunteered at soup kitchens—but is no stranger to poverty himself. Even when employed, he has struggled to afford basic necessities like a MetroCard.

Read Samuel’s story. Samuel joined the Riders Alliance to fight for reduced fares for low-income riders because he knows what it is like to have nothing: “I want people who struggle to be able to get on the train so they can get their shopping done, go to work and even have fun and see friends.”